A Letter From Dad
by Dignee
Summary: I have many regrets in my life. Some of them were small and could seem meaningless to others, while others weigh heavily on not only my own conscious but those that I failed. Yet none of them compare to the regret that I have for you...my son. I know I can't change the past, but hopefully this letter can make things better between us. To show you how much I care... One-Shot for now


I don't always make the right decision. Sometimes I don't even know what the 'right' decision really _is_.

All I do know is that everything I've done was meant to help and protect you. To make sure you had a better and brighter future than I ever could.

There were times where you disagreed with what I told you, or even rebelled against my authority. Every time that happened and I had to be strict with you to make sure you followed my instructions, I hoped that it wouldn't tear us apart. I was scared that everytime we fought you would love me less and less until you despised me. We would both get angry and both say things that we didn't really mean.

Once all the yelling was over we would both be sitting in the living room awkwardly silent, and you would get up from your spot on the couch, walk over to me ...and hug me. You would tell me that you still love me and that nothing I said or did while I was angry was going to make you love me any less.

That would cure my heart and dispel my fears. Of course we still disagreed on what made us angry in the first place but it seemed to me as though you understood why I said what I did. You always seemed so mature when it came to disagreements, as rare as they were for you.

Ever since you were just a baby I knew that I would give anything to make sure you were happy and safe. Only now after all these years did I realise that I could never fulfill that promise. Your dream would always lead you into danger, but it would make you happy. What I wanted for you would keep you safe, but you would never feel truly whole.

You took matters into your own hands when you left, and that's what made me realise my own greatest failure.

I didn't support you and the dream you wanted to make reality. I oppressed you with the life _I _wanted to live growing up. I took away _your _freedom of choice, just like my father had done to me.

Never in a million years did I think I would turn out exactly like my old man. Controlling and manipulative, even if I wasn't consciously doing it. You looked up to me to provide you with gentle guidance and my support, and instead I took a firm grasp of your life and lead you where I believed would be best for you.

For this my son, I will be forever sorry. There is nothing that I can do to change the past, no matter how badly I wish there was. I used to reminisce about all the times when you would spend the whole evening with me just listening to me tell stories of my grand adventures, but now these memories are soured at the prospect of me giving my child false hope for a life I would never approve for them.

My life has constantly been filled with hardships. From being battered and bruised after a spar to losing lifelong friends in just one quick moment in the field. When you told me about your dream I felt a fear grasp my heart at the mere thought of you going through a fraction of what I faced in life.

For all the grand adventures I would tell you as a child I would always mention some of the bad things that I had to face while I was a young man. Yet even then you would still look me in the eyes with that look I know all too well and say, 'Dad. I want to be just like you when I grow up!' Those words would fill me with dread because I never wanted to be the man that I have become. I didn't think that you truly understood the gravity of yours words.

Now though I realise that even as a child you are braver than I ever could hope to be. That your soul and very being had the fortitude of a thousand me's.

It's been a long time since I've been able to look upon your face with my own eyes, but if I were given the chance to do so now, I would smile and tell you that I'm _proud_ of you my son.

You had to start from nothing, unlike your friends. You went in with blind optimism and hope that you would be enough to make your dream come true, and you did! You made it into Beacon Academy, a place that only lets the best of the best train to become extraordinary.

People might have looked down on you at first because you didn't appear to be one of the best, but none of those bigots know what I do about you. That even if life tossed you around and threw obstacles in your way, you would stand back up and keep trying until you came out on top.

When I saw you on the t.v. in the Vytal Tournament I couldn't be any prouder that my son was standing toe to toe with others who've had years of experience under their belts. That he wasn't only just surviving, he was thriving with those around him.

I regret that I wasn't there in person to support you and cheer for you louder than anyone in the stands. To be shouting your name with pride while you lived your dream, like I should have been for years now.

Once the Fall of Beacon happened though I was caught off guard. I could only sit and watch as hundreds of people were overwhelmed with negativity and taken down by grimm. Once I did come to my senses, I realized that I had to take up arms and defend our village from the grimm that were attracted to the emotions of the people watching the Tournament as well.

When all of the fighting was done I tried to use my scroll to call you, only to see that I had no way to contact you anymore. All those months I spent putting off sending you a call and telling you it was alright that you left to live your dream were now truly wasted. I didn't know then if my son was still alive or not, and if I would ever get to see his face just one more time to tell him that I'm sorry.

It took too much time for me to gather our family and let those that weren't home know that we were heading to Vale. To help with the rebuilding efforts and hopefully find you there safe and sound.

When I arrived though I must have been too late. I searched for Ozpin but it seemed as though he didn't make it through the Fall. Then I ran into Glynda Goodwitch, and she told me she knows that you were alive but that she hadn't seen you or your friends for a few weeks now. My sorrow was lifted since I knew that my son was still fighting and making his way in the world, but I was frustrated that I was just weeks too late from being able to see you.

I stayed In Vale for a few months to help clear any leftover grimm and to help the population feel some sort of semblance of safety again, but after a quarter of the year had passed by, I felt it was time to return home and protect our village again. I was just about to board a bullhead with the rest of our family when the newspaper caught my eye.

Haven had just been attacked and headmaster Lionheart had died. The news of his death didn't concern me nearly as much as seeing you standing in the background of the first picture being displayed. I read how you and your friends had arrived just in time to fend off the attackers and to keep yet another huntsman academy from falling.

I couldn't be any prouder of you than I was in the moment. My son had fulfilled his dream, he was a hero. Yet I was slightly distraught after some time of looking at your picture. It wasn't the face I expected to see, the one so full of brightness and cheer when talking about being a savior of mankind.

Instead it was the face of a man who knew loss. A man that had seen a close one die and had to live on for them. A face that I had to look in the mirror daily.

This was the look that I feared would take root in you. I wished for only a brief moment that the camera didn't get a direct capture of your face, but that moment passed quickly as I realised your friends faces were captured just as clearly. They stood next to you tall and proud. A look of determination set into their faces, yet also ones of compassion and care. I knew then and there that your friends would be your moral support. That they would be there for you through thick and thin. So I set down that newspaper with a full heart. Knowing that my son was being cared for and looked after by people who want him to do just as well as I do.

Your sister Saphron still lives in Argus I believe, so this is where I will send the letter. Hopefully you're still there once it arrives, but if not I hope that your sister knows where you're heading off to.

...I truly do miss you son, and I hope that your journeys are safe. I know it's an impossible thing yet I hope so anyways. Life is hard enough as it is without the type of loss that a huntsman has to go through.

I'm proud of you son! Please never forget that. I will be proud of you even after my death. When I join our long line of ancestral heroes I will boast and praise my son for becoming the best of us all on his own!

I Love You Son.

-Dad


End file.
